A few years ago when my DD was in nursing school, she took a sock monkey to class and came home with PLEASE make me one. I made 48 sock monkeys from Oct 10th to Dec 22. I sold them for $35 each. I got so tired of sock monkeys! We had a Army Navy store in town that carried the Red Heel Socks. I bought all the store had. The instructions are online. The sock fabric will roll up and ravel when you cut it. I used a narrow zig zag to sew the seams. A tube turner will be a must to save your sanity.
http://lennytaylor.freeyellow.com/Monkey.htm